The long-awaited online database of employment tribunal decisions is now live and available here.

I am not aware of any formal announcement concerning this, and it is not clear what, if any, cut-off date has been applied for the decisions. Some date from 2016, but at this stage exactly which older decisions are available is unclear. It may be that they are still being processed and uploaded.

The database contains a free text search, along with search by jurisdiction and date, but there is no facility to search by claimant or respondent, other than the free text search.

After a very long wait, the government has now published its “Review of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunal”. This includes a consultation on proposals for reform of the system, and is available online here.

The lengthy document finds that “the original objectives [of the fee system] have broadly been met” and that “while there is clear evidence that ET fees have discouraged people from bringing claims, there is no conclusive evidence that they have been prevented from doing so”. However, “the review highlights some matters of concern that cannot be ignored” and “the Government has decided to take action to address these concerns.” Read the rest of this entry »

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The government, opposition and Parliament are all carrying out reviews of the law on employment status. Prompted by the development of the so-called gig economy, this issue is now attracting serious attention from policy-makers.

Commissioned by the Prime Minister, Matthew Taylor (the chief executive of the RSA) and his team (including Diane Nicol of Pinsent Masons) are to report under a number of headings including “security, pay and rights” and “the balance of rights and responsibilities”. At one level this could be seen as simply a review of the different employment statuses – but it is potentially much more wide ranging than that, covering fundamental issues about what statuses should attract what rights. Read the rest of this entry »

Presidential Guidance has been issued on a new process of Judicial Assessment in the employment tribunals in England and Wales. This new guidance is applicable from 3 October 2016.

Drawing on the overriding objective and the duty in rule 3 for the tribunal to “encourage the use by the parties of … other means of resolving their disputes by agreement“, this new guidance includes a protocol for employment judges to give “an impartial and confidential assessment … at an early stage in the proceedings, of the strengths, weaknesses and risks of the parties’ respective claims, allegations and contentions“. Read the rest of this entry »

I wrote last year about the Billable Hour campaign, initiated by Sean Jones QC in support of Save the Children’s work with refugees. Last year over £200,000 was raised.

The need for such support remains, and there is a fresh appeal this year. You can find full information about the campaign here and donate here. Please consider whether you can make a donation to this cause.